


five times we said goodbye

by chariiots



Series: i would give up kingdoms for you [1]
Category: Monsta X (Band), SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Fluff, M/M, Pining, Swearing, background showki, everyone is background except jihoon and hwh, genderbent seventeen, king hyungwon, queen jihoon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-29
Updated: 2017-04-29
Packaged: 2018-10-25 06:08:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10758288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chariiots/pseuds/chariiots
Summary: "how much do you love me?”the answer is, quite simply, a lot. if he had to, he’d give up the whole kingdom in exchange for hoseok’s life if he had to. he’d throw away his status, his riches, everything he’s known since young, just to be with him. he knows it sounds like something out of a fairy tale: the princess, or king, falling in love with his knight in shining armor, who’s ready to sweep him off his feet and take him away from palace life.but, this isn’t a fairy tale. hoseok isn't here to save him from his "dull and dreary life", he isn't a princess that needs saving. they're just two people that fell in love, and it's as simple as that.[royals hyungwonho au]





	five times we said goodbye

one.  
it's pretty unfortunate that their old head guard is quitting, since he does an amazing job. shownu's a good friend, an exceptional strategist and warrior, and an even better leader. it's a shame that he wants to quit, but hyungwon doesn't blame shownu. he has a family to start, a lover - kihyun, he thinks his name is - who worries about his safety when he's out at war. he has so many reasons to leave that hyungwon's more surprised that he didn't leave earlier. it's eventual, he supposes. maybe the next time shownu and kihyun pay a visit, kihyun will finally stop glaring daggers at him, and have a proper conversation with him that doesn't include the undertones of "fuck you, because of you my shownu has to put his life on the line. you better make sure he never dies in combat, you hear me?" as if he'd let it happen.

he's actually supposed to meet the new head guard shownu appointed today, though he has no doubts about his judgement. besides, jihoon had a part in picking the head guard, even if it was based off of first impression. for some reason, jihoon has ridiculously accurate judgement of people, so there's nothing to worry about.

turns out, there is. the moment he walks into the strategy room, a really handsome guy stands up and bows to him. "king hyungwon, i'm hoseok, the new head guard. please trust shownu-hyung's judgement, i promise to do my best to serve this country!" the problem is that hoseok is really hot. the guard uniform fits him perfectly, and somehow he makes even the ugly gold tassels on the shoulder pads look good. he even pulls off the gross beret, and hyungwon is shook. it also reminds him to get jihoon to find someone to redesign their guard uniforms because this is actually disgusting, even if it doesn't look the least bit bad on hoseok. in fact, he looks kind of royal, kingly even.

he stands there in shock, before coming to his senses to stop checking out the guy, for god’s sake, and quickly asks him to rise. "as head guard, i view you as an equal. please, there's no need to bow to me."

he spends the next two hours with hoseok, reviewing with him the status of the security and peace in the country, and that of neighbouring countries in case they pose a threat to their own. though, if he was honest, he spent half the time staring at hoseok's lips when he talked. it's pathetic how smitten he is, and quite irresponsible, but that's definitely not at the front of his mind. dating hoseok is, instead of facts and statistics and trends observed or even how wrong their relationship would be. the close proximity has him dizzied and distracted by how hoseok's breath gently fans across his skin when he exhales.

when hoseok bids him goodbye, he still bows, but at least this time he didn't end up on his knees. hyungwon bows back slightly too, far too flustered for his own good, and his forehead nearly knocks into hoseok's. he spews out a string of apologies, and hoseok is more stunned than anything. "shouldn't i be apologizing to you?"

"no, it's also my fault. i'm sorry, oh my gosh." his laughter is like music, and hyungwon didn't know he could fall more in love with someone than now.

"you're too kind, hyungwon-ssi." with that, hoseok says goodbye for a final time before leaving the strategy room, leaving him to watch his silhouette shrink as he walks off. he waits until hoseok is fully out of sight before he asks a servant to call jihoon over, with or without soonyoung, he doesn't care.

it's after fifteen minutes of dying inside alone does he finally hear soonyoung's voice booming from the hallway. "hyungwon-oppa, could you give me a hand? jihoon's really heavy!" she says as she comes stumbling in, carrying a sleeping jihoon in her arms.

"and why are you carrying her?" he mumbles as he crosses the room to get a glass of water.

"she's tired, and insisted i carry her- holy shit!" hyungwon doesn't even hesitate before splashing cold water at jihoon's face. in fact, he startles soonyoung to the extent that she nearly drops jihoon.

it's effective, though. jihoon immediately snaps her eyes open and asks soonyoung to put her down. "shit you, man," she spits venomously at hyungwon, who only rolls his eyes at her.

"okay, but have you met the new head guard?"

"hoseok? yeah, last weekend. shownu actually consulted me on who to take over him, and hoseok was the best choice- oh god, you have that look on your face. you're in love with him, aren't you."

"i mean, i wouldn't call this love..." hyungwon says. jihoon just looks defeated, though he wouldn't blame her. it's the third time in this year he's gotten a crush on a new staff member, even though he got over the past two in a week. it still concerns her to no end, since it's a never-ending unhealthy cycle of realizing they're straight somehow, being so distraught that he takes a day off to wallow in his own misery, before immediately going back to normal.

"you say that now, but wait until-" hyungwon cuts her off by flipping her off, and jihoon just sighs. "you'd fight your best friend of twenty years, huh."

"i'd fight anyone, try me."

"even hoseok?"

"holy shit, he can fight me any day. how dare he look so good in that ugly ass uniform- right, please ask the tailor to design a new one, it looks so bad. shit man, hoseok is really cute."

jihoon gives up.

  
two.  
hyungwon has been seeing hoseok a lot lately, and that isn't good for his heart. of course, it'd be a cause of concern if he hasn't, considering that hoseok is the head guard, and jihoon insists that he has intelligence meetings with hoseok. where is jihoon in all of this? in her room, probably, reading the reports instead of attending since she has “no faith in him” to read the reports conscientiously. even soonyoung knows it’s an excuse she’s making so that he can spend more time with hoseok, but she actually approves of what jihoon is doing. then again, what else did he expect? soonyoung is fucking whipped for her.

all these meetings are doing is making hyungwon realize how much more there is to hoseok than his looks, that it has hyungwon reeling. hoseok’s ambitious yet kind, passionate and intelligent, and just and all around amazing person. he makes hyungwon feel like cherry blossoms are falling all around them, like it’s spring and the flowers are blooming just for them. (also, he’s a fucking flirt. save hyungwon.)

“hey, hoseok, do you mind if i ask you something? it’s not exactly work related though.”

“go ahead.”

as he’s about to ask hoseok out, a servant knocks on the door. “later, then,” he sighs as he opens the door. the stupid oak doors have never felt heavier in his whole life, and he would really rather just hide from his duties for today, just today, so that he could spend more time with hoseok.

“king hyungwon, i’m dreadfully sorry to interrupt, but your presence is required by queen jihoon in the throne room.” what a cockblock, he thinks as he leaves unwillingly. later, later, but when will he get the courage to again?

a travelling fortune teller. that’s what the fuck he left hoseok for. jihoon’s smirking from his side devilishly as she swirls a glass of something casually. is it wine? punch? blood of her enemies? hyungwon has no clue. he also has no idea how jihoon figured out that he wanted to ask hoseok out today, though how she found out doesn’t really matter, does it?

"it'll be nice to hear from one about the future of our country, even if it's a bit superstitious, don't you think?" she says, a honey-sweet smile on her face. hyungwon is this close to calling her out, if not for the fact that there’s a stranger in the room too.

the misty-eyed fortune teller looks up from her case, fingers ghosting over a crystal ball as she singlehandedly shuffles a deck of tarot cards in her other hand. she’s rather impressive, and it's almost like a show. there are colorful smoky swirls in the crystal ball that probably only she could make sense of, and gentle white light bathes the tarot cards.

"for the country, i see great prosperity and progress, in both the economy and mindsets of the people. however, a slight threat looms overhead, but i cannot be certain of what it is. for the lady, i see in her future a passionate lover, and much happiness. beware of temptations, stay true to the path of virtue, and you will avoid all turmoil... what is this i see? in the king's future, i see much secrecy and frustration? it seems like you will experience a lot of emotional dilemmas, and pain. is there a huge secret you're keeping, sir? it seems that this secret will become a huge burden that will cloud your decision making, and if you don't get it off your chest..."

the fortune teller trails off as she stares into her crystal ball again, drawing swirls on the surface of the crystal ball. the colorful smoke turns a smoky grey, and hyungwon's face falls in worry.

"it seems like a love interest of yours will face great danger, though i don't see it in the lady's future... perhaps i made a mistake. either way, here is an amulet to ward off bad luck. it is better to be safe than sorry. i will be off now, thank you for your time." the lady takes out a small amulet from the case and gives it to jihoon, and jihoon gives her a small sack of gold coins in return before dismissing her.

after the fortune teller leaves the hall, jihoon gets up and drops the amulet into hyungwon's lap. "seems like hoseok will need this more than me, huh, oppa?" she teases, and walks out without even looking back.

sometimes, hyungwon really wants to strangle jihoon, but that is treason, and he actually needs her.

  
three.  
the fortune teller, unfortunately, turned out to be very damn correct. it is rumored that their people have been crossing the border illegally to steal from the farms of the neighbouring country, and the neighbouring country is fucking pissed. all jihoon has to say about this is a curt "i told you so", considering that she did warn him about not cracking down on the gangs near the border. of course, all hyungwon did was do a couple of arrests, closed a few illegal dens, and thought it was enough to scare them. obviously it wasn't, because now they're literally going to be the cause of a war if it isn't settled soon.

hyungwon never wanted to take drastic measures against the gangs. they've never been causing trouble, always living peacefully by the borders and sometimes starting fights among themselves, but that was really about it. this though, this crosses the line and hyungwon is furious.

okay, so maybe this is mainly because hoseok has to go and talk this out with the other country, as their head guard and main negotiator. but, who knows what will happen there? god, they could literally be ambushed there and the fortune teller said something about hoseok being at risk of danger. if it were up to him, he'd refuse to let hoseok go- actually, he could, but he understands that this is part of hoseok's duty. he can't be that selfish, just because he likes hoseok. it's for the country, it's his job, he reminds himself every day, up until the day hoseok is supposed to leave.

"before you leave, take this. it's for good luck- not that you'll need it, i have faith in your negotiation skills." the amulet feels heavy in his hand, and he hates knowing that it's impossible to predict what kind of danger hoseok might face, that he can't prevent it from happening.

another thing that hyungwon has learnt that is really fucking hard to predict is hoseok, because as he presses the amulet into hoseok's palm, he can feel hoseok's fingers wrap around his own. he lifts his hand slightly before bending down to kiss the back of hyungwon's hand. hyungwon's eyes widen in shock, and he's struggling to find the right words. "thank you, hyungwon-ssi."

"i- promise you'll come back with good news?"

"i promise, i'll come back."

when hoseok leaves for the helipad, it's a bitter feeling, all the unsaid words catching in his throat. he could run and catch up with hoseok, spill his heart out on the floor for him, but there's little point. hyungwon really doesn't want to distract him with sudden confessions. it's like this that hoseok slips from his fingertips once again, and hyungwon can only hope that he returns.

hyungwon leaves it to jihoon to punish those involved. she orders a few officers to close down a few dens that their scouts found and arrest anyone inside, and sends one of their generals to talk to the leaders of the gangs. there's probably more to that, knowing jihoon, probably highly malicious threats hidden in the scripted sweet talk. a new law on border security is waiting to be passed, and more soldiers are being deployed to guard the border. ironically, their main purpose isn't to guard the country from invaders, but rather to guard the neighboring country from their own people illegally crossing.

jihoon bustles around the castle for the next few days, forcing herself to churn out all the new changes to be made. she barely sleeps for the next few days, bouncing between checking up on the fucking lovesick puppy, running the country while said puppy is in distress, and putting in place all the planned changes. the only person who could possibly rival hyungwon in the desperation for hoseok to come back would be her, because all she wants to do is sleep.

the moment that it's announced that hoseok has come back, they're in the middle of lunch and hyungwon literally rushes out of the dining hall to greet him, much to jihoon's relief and soonyoung's amusement. hoseok comes back without a scratch, and the negotiation was more in their favor than expected. all it took to placate them was promising to compensate for the stolen crops, tighten border security, and punish the thieves. that, and hoseok charming the queen, but no one needs to know that.

it's impulsive and a bit inappropriate, hyungwon knows, but he tackles hoseok into a hug once he saw him. "you were taking so long!" he ~~whines~~  says, hugging hoseok tightly.

"it's okay, i'm home now."

  
four.  
"i like you a lot."

it's out of nowhere that hoseok confesses, right in the middle of an intelligence meeting, and maybe this is why jihoon insisted he have intelligence meetings with hoseok without her. (the real reason is that she doesn't like getting up early, and would really just rather not see hyungwon eye-fucking hoseok.)

it’s so sudden, it has hyungwon taken aback and fumbling for the right words to say, to the amusement of hoseok. he, of course, tries to reply as suavely as possible, but that’s a fucking joke, considering he’s tripping over two words. “um. o-oh, ri- really?”

right now, he’s just a blushing mess, and all he can do is return hoseok a small smile. hoseok smiles blindingly at him and laughs, melting his heart just a little bit more. “would it be a bit presumptuous of me to assume that you like me too, hyungwon-ssi?”

“oh, fuck you, asshole.”

he learns in the next thirty minutes that hoseok’s hands are warm, in a good way, after holding them for a while, that his lips actually are as soft as they look, and that jihoon actually is capable of not interrupting good things. in fact, he probably should thank her for setting all of this up, intentional or not. in his defense, they’ve also gone through all that they needed to, so he’s technically not shirking his responsibilities to sneak in a few kisses. as much as jihoon likes to joke that they are, they’re not shitty, irresponsible leaders, or at least that’s what he likes to believe.

“how much do you love me?” is a question that goes unspoken between the two of them, but hyungwon can tell that hoseok is wondering about it. the answer is, quite simply, a lot. if he had to, he’d give up the whole kingdom in exchange for hoseok’s life if he had to. he’d throw away his status, his riches, everything he’s known since young, just to be with him. he knows hoseok is in doubt over all of this, because it sounds like something out of a fairy tale: the princess, or king, falling in love with his knight in shining armor, who’s ready to sweep him off his feet and take him away from palace life. but, this isn’t a fairy tale. hoseok isn't here to save him from his "dull and dreary life", he isn't a princess that needs saving. they're just two people that fell in love, and it's as simple as that.

when hoseok gets up to leave, it’s a bitter feeling. hyungwon thought that they’d have more time together today, but he guesses things don’t always work out the way he expects them too. that’s okay, though. they’ve got decades ahead of them, decades of time to spend with each other, and hyungwon would gladly take every hour he can get.

“do you really have to leave?”

“i have to take things from my home if i want to stay the night. that is, if you want me to,” hoseok says, smirking.

“yeah, i mean, i do. i do want you to stay the night. it would be nice if you do.”

their goodbye is sealed with a kiss, and hyungwon knows he’s never felt more content in his life.

 

five.  
honestly, hyungwon isn't really sure what time it is, but the sun is blindingly bright when jihoon draws the curtains of his room roughly. sunlight streams in unceremoniously, and hyungwon tries to shield his eyes using the blanket before he remembers that he's sharing the bed with hoseok, limbs tangled with each other's. should he be embarrassed? well, he probably would be if not for the fact that he knows it's jihoon, since only she would do that. she's seen him at worse times, it doesn't matter.

"shownu and his family are here for lunch now, you have ten minutes to get ready. have fun," she says before leaving, not even having the decency to close the door behind her. he can't actually see her anymore, but he's willing to bet everything that she's smirking now, and ready to use this as ammunition against him later. well, everything but hoseok.

hyungwon tries to get out of bed without waking hoseok up, but he starts to stir anyway. "what time is it?" he sleepily mumbles, and hyungwon can feel his heart burst in his chest from how rough his voice is. it's one thing he'll never get used to, but he likes it. sometimes, it's still hard to believe that hoseok is his.

"late enough for shownu's family to be here for lunch. you can sleep in a bit more if you want. i think we'll be at the dining hall if you want to join us?" hoseok hums in satisfaction, and turns away from the sunlight to continue sleeping.

knowing jihoon would definitely mock him if he doesn't get down fast enough, he throws on a button down and a pair of pants on the floor, not sure who exactly it belongs to. considering hoseok did leave a lot of his stuff in his room over the course of the past month, he's never too sure anymore.

with messy hair and half-shut eyes, hoseok mumbles a sleepy goodbye as hyungwon is about to leave. "give me twenty minutes."

"minhyuk would've eaten most of the food, though."

"don't care, want to sleep in a bit."

"wish i could sleep in with you." hyungwon smiles indulgently, and quickly walks over to kiss him.

"you have the rest of your life, shoo. and draw the curtains shut, will you?"

having him for the rest of his life sounds nice.

  
bonus: one time we said hello

when he enters the dining hall, minhyuk is staring intently at him. it's uncomfortable, and means he wants something. hyungwon doesn't want to know what it is, honestly.

"so... jihoon told us. is he good?" minhyuk says, smiling cutely as he wiggles his eyebrows.

"yeah, i mean he treats me really well-"

"no, you know what i mean. don't avoid the question." of course, that's what minhyuk meant. it's fucking minhyuk, for crying out loud.

"we haven't- oh my god, fuck you all. just... fuck you." he and jihoon just start cackling, and shownu reaches out to pat his back comfortingly.

"you know, it's nothing to be embarrassed of, even if it's a subject that shouldn't be discussed at the table." honestly, all hyungwon wants to do is slap minhyuk, or just die in a hole.

it doesn’t help when hoseok walks into the hall, wearing a shirt a little too big for him that everyone knows is hyungwon’s, or that hoseok’s first choice of action is to kiss hyungwon on the cheek before sitting down next to him, eliciting loud laughter from jihoon and catcalls from minhyuk. so maybe has a shitty “family”, but he loves them all the same. (the same being less than hoseok, if he’s fully honest.)

for now, lunch is void of duties and all etiquette, and hyungwon likes it a lot. it makes him feel like he’s a normal person, like he’s back to the time before he was a king and had to handle a whole kingdom. it’s exhausting most of the time, but with hoseok by his side and jihoon this close to murdering him as she cleans up his mistakes on top of her own work, he thinks he’s got the whole “being a king” thing down.

**Author's Note:**

> a bit of fluff and pining after the shitstorm of what i posted this morning. there will be a soonhoon spin-off to this!!!! and it's very "discovering sexuality" based and i'm excited!!!! though i doubt it'll come out anytime soon lol. 
> 
> facts: was prompted to write hwh by one of my closest friends when i wasn't rlly into monsta x, so i added background soonhoon bc i needed a background couple. i am now certified monsta x trash™. also this took me about a month? month half? to write bc i worked on this in little segments in class.
> 
> [prompt me!](https://cheriiots.tumblr.com/ask)
> 
> social media: [tumblr](https://cheriiots.tumblr.com/) | [twitter](https://twitter.com/chariiots) | [curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/woozwhy)
> 
> also mini epilogue for those who've read so far: hwh adopt a son (changkyun), soonhoon decides not. they abolish the rule that a king has to marry before he can take the throne, but jihoon continues to jointly rule the kingdom w hyungwon and they continue to be recognized as the "official" king and queen. homosexuality in changkyun's reign is a lot more widely accepted, and marries jooheon !!


End file.
